Legislation on comprehensive smoking ban on construction sites takes effect today
The Construction Sites (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 2026 takes effect, upon gazettal, today (July 17). In addition, the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2026 and the Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) (Specification of Authorities and Public Officers) (Amendment) Notice 2026 published in the Gazette on May 22, 2026, also take effect today. The above three pieces of legislative amendments take effect to impose clear legal obligations on principal contractors and subcontractors of construction sites and any persons on construction sites that smoking is prohibited on all construction sites, to reduce fire risks and safeguard the safety of workers and the public.
All types of construction sites, including those for building repair, maintenance or renovation, are designated as no smoking areas, except for domestic premises or private quarters that are being occupied by their residents for residential purposes.
Occupational Safety Officers (OSOs) of the Labour Department (LD) have been empowered to carry out enforcement work related to all smoking offences on construction sites. OSOs will immediately issue a fixed penalty notice without prior warning to any person who does a smoking act on a construction site. Offenders are liable to a fixed fine of $3,000.
Contractors and subcontractors of construction sites shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that no person uses a naked light for lighting, smokes or carries a lighted smoking product on a construction site. Offenders are liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $400,000.
The LD has launched a series of publicity and education initiatives over the past few months to enable the construction industry and the public to understand the requirements of the smoking ban on construction sites. These include disseminating relevant information through placing advertisements on mobile applications, bus bodies and at MTR stations, broadcasting a promotional video through television and social media platforms, broadcasting promotional messages on radio stations, and disseminating relevant information through seminars. The LD will continue to raise the law-abiding awareness of contractors, subcontractors, workers and members of the public through diverse promotional channels. The LD will also maintain ongoing communication with the construction industry to exchange views on reasonable steps that can be taken to enforce a smoking ban on construction sites, thereby assisting contractors in complying with the legislation and improving fire safety on construction sites.
Moreover, the LD has been collaborating with law enforcement departments responsible for the prohibition of smoking in designated areas to ensure smooth law enforcement regarding implementation of the aforementioned legislative amendments. The LD will also continue to work with the Department of Health, the Primary Healthcare Commission and other relevant organisations to promote a smoke-free culture through seminars and exhibitions, and support individuals in need of quitting smoking.
Meanwhile, the LD will soon issue revised codes of practices (CoPs) on scaffolding, including setting out the material requirements for scaffolding toe-boards to ensure the materials used are of sufficient strength to prevent workers and objects from falling from scaffolds, while also reducing fire risks. Moreover, CoPs will outline the requirements for protective screens in accordance with the relevant requirements in Practice Note for Registered Contractors 85, further ensuring that the protective materials meet the required fire retardant performance standards.
Source: AI-found images
Government launches open tender for Smart and Green Mass Transit System in East Kowloon
The Government today (July 17) launches an open tender for the Smart and Green Mass Transit System (SGMTS) in East Kowloon (the East Kowloon Project) (Tender Reference No.: HYRD 1/2026 (BP)). The tender invitation will close at noon on March 12, 2027 (Friday).
With a total length of approximately 7 kilometres, the East Kowloon Project comprises elevated and tunnel sections with nine stations. The termini (namely Choi Hung East Station and Yau Tong East Station) will connect to the MTR Choi Hung Station and Yau Tong Station respectively. The alignment will pass through Choi Wan, Shun Lee, Shun On, Sau Mau Ping, Po Tat, Ma Yau Tong and Lam Tin North. The construction works for the system are expected to commence in 2027, with completion and commissioning targeted in or before 2033.
A spokesperson for the Government said, "The Government has been embracing a dual-innovation mindset in both policy and technology to press ahead with the East Kowloon Project in full swing. Serving over 300 000 residents and community facilities such as the United Christian Hospital along the alignment, the project has adopted a people-centric approach in formulating the alignment and design. Apart from significantly enhancing the connectivity with the railway network and mitigating the impact of road traffic congestion on residents, the project will feature 24-hour pedestrian walkways at stations to facilitate access. Furthermore, through approximately 20 sets of pedestrian linkages equipped with barrier-free facilities, it will provide more comfortable and convenient routes for travelling between uphill and downhill areas, including Sau Mau Ping and the Anderson Road development area."
To encourage participation of local, Mainland and overseas investors and operators, a Build-Operate-Transfer model is adopted for selecting a franchisee to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the system through open tendering. Local and non-Hong Kong companies meeting the conditions for participation specified in the tender documents are invited to submit tender, and, if awarded the tender, will form an incorporated company in Hong Kong to undertake the East Kowloon Project. The Government will provide funding support for the project through granting the property development rights of three sites (i.e. Depot Site at Ma Yau Tong, Kai Tak Site which comprises Sites 3E1 and 3E2 in Kai Tak, and Cha Kwo Ling Road Site at Cha Kwo Ling Road and near Kwun Tong Road). A "two-envelope approach" will be adopted in the tender assessment to consider holistically the technical (including technical proposals of a suitable type of SGMTS for operation in uphill areas) and price proposals of the tenders. The weightings for the non-price proposal and the price proposal are 60 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. The successful tenderer will be required to pay a fixed sum to the Government for the grant of the franchise and property development rights of the sites, while bearing the responsibilities for implementing and operating the East Kowloon Project.
In order to protect the use of public resources, the Government has devised several financial control measures to ensure that the future franchisee will fulfil its obligations under the project. These measures include conducting financial vetting on the successful tenderer, requiring the franchisee to provide guarantees, and forbidding the franchisee's payment of dividends arising from the project to its shareholders before commissioning of the SGMTS.
The spokesperson added, "In the tender assessment, tenderers are encouraged to integrate smart technology elements into station design to provide passengers with high-quality travel experience, and to provide all-weather barrier-free pedestrian connection systems linking the stations with the surrounding communities. Tenderers are also encouraged in the tender assessment to adopt innovative construction technologies to shorten the construction period, with a view to expediting the completion of the project. Furthermore, the franchisee is required to provide proposals and make design provisions to ensure that the feasibility of future extensions of the system to Tsz Wan Shan and Po Lam is preserved, thereby retaining maximum flexibility for future planning. Detailed assessment criteria are set out in the tender documents."
During the gazettal period of the East Kowloon Project, no public objections were received against the proposed alignment, and the scheme was subsequently authorised by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics in August last year. This demonstrates that the project received broad support from the public and the local community.
Details of the tender notice are available on the Highways Department's website (www.hyd.gov.hk/en/tender_notices/contracts/prequalifications_and_tender_notices/2026/HYRD1_2026BP.html). Relevant interested parties with experience and the capability of delivering the project (including developers, contractors, system operators, system suppliers, etc) can make a request for obtaining the tender documents through the East Kowloon Project's website of the Highways Department (www.sgmts-ek.hk/tender/). Tenderers must deposit their tenders in the tender box as specified in the tender notice before the tender closing time.
For enquiries, please contact the Railway Development Office of the Highways Department at 3521 0525 during office hours.
Source: AI-found images
